Basking in the afterglow

French novelist Michel Houellebecq is obsessed with sex, but his first film is more cerebral

In the 2002 television documentary The Trouble with Michel, the English novelist Will Self famously described his French counterpart, Michel Houellebecq, as “just a little guy who can’t get enough sex. That’s it, isn’t it?”.

Well, yes and no. Last year, Houellebecq was still complaining to an interviewer about how “solitary and sexually frustrated” he was. But he was also showing signs of uncharacteristic joy. His dream of one day directing a film was about to become a reality. His first feature film, The Possibility of an Island, which he adapted from his 2005 novel of the same name, is now in postproduction.

Its location and look were inspired by the arid, volcanic landscapes of Lanzarote, where Houellebecq, who spends most of the year in Spain, often goes to sunbathe nude. “Before it became a book, The Possibility of an Island was just a bunch of impressions about living a